woodruff



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. W. WOUDRUPF.

PILE 0R DOCUMENT HOLDER.

Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

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E. W. WOODRUFF.

FILE 0R DOCUMENT HOLDER.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMIND Il'. \VOODRUFF, OF \VASHING'1`ON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FILE OR DOCUMENT HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,429, dated November19, 1889.

Application filed September 17, 1889. Serial No. 324,171. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, EDMUND IV. IVOODRUFF, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tashington, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvementsin File orDocument Holders; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to that class of document or le holders inwhich the box is formed by a bottom, a front at right angles thereto,and two side pieces, between which and toward the front or bottomaiileboard or follower is situated and adapted to be adjusted.

My invention relates more particularly, iirst, to means of an improvedcharacter by which the file-board is held in place in an .uprightposition to compress and hold the contents of the file-box, or ispermitted to fall into an inclined position to release said contents andallow of their convenient examination; second, to improved deviceswhereby a iile box or ho'lder maybe suspended upon the front of itscabinet at the entrance of its pi geon-hole or space.

Theinvention consists in the parts and combinations thereof, or in theirequivalents, hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

In order to make my invention more clearly understood, l have shown inthe accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practicaleffect.

In said drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of a portion of acabinet and file-holder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar viewof a. holder suspended and with the fileboard in an .inclined position,ready for the inspection or removal of the contents. Fig. 3 is atransverse section, looking toward the back of the file-board. Fig. 4 isa perspective view of a file-board having a somewhat different form ofclamping device, also embodying my invention. Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of a portion of the cabinet and box, illustrating the means forsuspending the latter.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a portion of a case or cabinet,of which a a are two shelves, a being the upper and a the lower relativeto the file-box, which is shown in connection with them.

B is the file-box, of which the front b is of such height as to neatlyfill the space between shelves a a. The box here shown is of the typeknown as horizontah in which the file-board operates toward and from thebottom and the papers or files lie in horizontal planes when the box isin place upon its shelf; but certain of my improvements herein describedare applicable to holders in which the follower operates toward and fromthe front, and in which the files are always upright, and I claim suchinvention whether used with a horizontal or with an upright file-holder.

I will rst describe the means whereby the holder or box is suspendedupon the front of the cabinet.

C is a tongue, which is pivot-ally mounted upon the forward end of aslide D by means of a pin c. The slide is mounted upon and is movabletoward and from the front edge of the shelf a', being guided and heldupon the shelf by means suitable to permit this move- 1nent-sucl1, forinstance, as headed screws d, passing through a longitudinal slot d inthe slide and securely fixed in the shelf. In such case the slot d isproperly countersunk or rabbeted, as shown, Fig. 5, so as to'bring thetops ofthe screw-heads flush with or below the surface of slide D. Astop is provided which prevents the forward oscillation of the tongue Cbeyond the desired angle-such, for instance, as a projection c', adaptedto abut against the front end of the slide. A groove e in the bottom Eof the box is adapted to recei've the parts C and D when the former isfolded down upon the slide and the box is upon the shelf a', thuspermitting the box to slide into its place or to be drawn out from thecabinet.

F is a plate or metal strap secured in or across the groove e, so as toleave an aperture adapted to receive the tongue C. This plate issituated at such distance from the front of the box that it will reachand be engaged by said tongue just before the box is sufficiently drawnout to admit of its being tipped forward and downward to its suspendedposition, thus insuring that the file- IOO box shall not be hastily andpart-ially drawn forth and allowed to tip without engaging the tongue,which would ordinarily result in the falling of the box to the floor.`

In order to prevent the boX from being tipped until it has been drawnforward into engagement with the tongue, as above described, the sides bare made of such shape (say rectangular) and length that their endsshall be flush with the top of front h, and shall extend back therefromin engagement with the under side of shelf a, as shown at b2, when theholder is in place in the cabinet.

The tongue C is provided with a shoulder c', which limits the distanceto which the tongue shall pass into or beneath the plate F, and whichserv es to support the weight of the box when suspended. This shoulder calso forms, an offset,' which holds the end of the tongue, when folded,at a suflicient distance above the plate D to permit plate F to passbeneath the tongue as the file-box is' drawn forward.

I will now proceed to describe my improved means for clamping thefile-board and for holding it in an inclined position. It is desirablethat the file-board tip from the bottom-that is to say, upon an axissubstantially coincident with the bottom edge of the boardi as suchmovement better exposes the contents of the box to view, and does sowithout making it necessary t-o slide the [ile-board to- It is also idesirable that when in clamping the fileboard its bottom edge shall havebeen brought l against the papers the operation of the clamping deviceshall not throw said bottom edge v farther forward. Vhen this latteraction occurs, the clamp offers much resistance, considerable force isnecessary to close it, and the parts are frequently bent, broken, orloosened from the file-board. By my improvement these variousdifficulties are overcome', and a clamping device is produced which,while it holds the contents of the file-box firmly and with all thedesired pressure, can be operated by a mere touch.

Referring to that embodiment of my invention which is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, it will be seen that the clamp consists of asystem of two levers and a link, the first Gbeing substantiallyhorizontal, pivoted to or beneath the bottom edge of the file-board, asat g, extending backward '(toward the open end of the tle-boX)therefrom, and adapted at-its outer end gg to bear downward upon thebottom (or front) of the fileboX, which is provided with the usualundercut clamping-groove b3. The second lever II is pivoted at h to thelever G, such pivotal point being situated at the outer side of pivot g,and at its upper end forms or is provided with an operating-handle h. Ata point intermediate between said handle and pivot 7L the lever II ishinged by a pin h2 to the lower end of ya third bar I, which latter atits upper end is pivoted in or on the file-board by pivot i.

.I indicates a cross-head or two lateral proj ect-ions, which areadapted to vengage the under side of the undercut clamp-groove b3, andobtain,in conjunction with the outer end of lever G, a secure grip uponthe file-box and hold the file-board rigidly in the desired position.The projections .l may be formed with or attached to the file-board, asshown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or may be' carried by the horizontal lever Gat a point between the end g3, which bears upon the file-box, and thepivot g, as seen in Fig. 4.

In operating this clamping device to release the file-board from theposition shown in Fig. l, it is simply necessary to touch the inner sideof the handle h and give it a slight outward pressure. The pivots 71.,h2, and z' being almost in a straight line, a very light pressure willsuffice to carry the pivot h2 beyond (to the right inFig. l) thestraight line drawn from pivot h to pivot t', whereupon the pressure ofthe papers will cause the fileboard to fly open and into its inclinedposition, (shown in Fig. 2,) when the contents of the file-box will beready for inspection. To close the file-board against the papers it issimply necessary to take the handle h with the thumb and linger, pressthe lever H longitudinally till the file-board is yat its lower edge inclose contact with the papers, and then tilt the lever toward the{ile-board. Such action brings pivots h, h2, and c' into a straightline, and linally carries pivot h2 slightly past Such line, at whichinstant the handle h comes IOO in contact with the back of bar I, (orsaid bar be substantially parallel with the papers and at right angleswith that part of the box in which the clamp-groove b3 is formed. Theprojections J, when carried by the follower or le-board, are preferablyformed upon the lower end of a metallicplate K, riveted to the le-board.Such plate also forms a convenient bearing for the pivot g.' As` theclamping strain of the toggles H and I tends to force plate K in adirection parallel with the follower-board, and as the latter isfrequently made of soft wood, I provide said plate with an inwardprojection 7c, adapted to fit tightly in a corresponding recess bored inthe file-board. This projection, being of considerable diameter, givesmuch more security than the ordinary rivets against loosening bypressure in lines parallel with the file-board. Bearings for pivots t'are also preferably furnished by a plate L, having ears Z, and a proj ection Z analogous to that of the plate K. Plate L is also securelyriveted to the file-board, and by virtue of its projection Z is adaptedto resist the upward pressure brought to bear upon itby the operation ofthe toggles.

Additional stability is given to the Iile- IIC board by a projection d4formed upon the outer end of lever G, and adapted to iit between thesides of the clamp-groove b3. The board is thus prevented from beingaccidentally twisted out of its proper posit-ion, the projection d*acting as a guide whether the file-board be vertical or inclined.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In a file ordocument holder, the combination, with a file-box and a follower orleboard therefor, of a lever pivotally connected at one end with saidfollower, extending rearwardly therefrom and adapted at its free end tobear against the file-box, projections which engage the file-boxoppositely to said lever, and toggles connected with said follower andwith said lever for oscillating the latter upon its pivot toward or fromthe file-box to engage the latter or be disengaged therefrom and clampor release the follower, substantially as set forth.

2. In a file or document holder, the combination, with the file-boxhaving a clampgroove and the follower-board, of a plate secured to saidboard and provided with projections adapted to engage said clamp-groove,an outwardly-extending lever pivoted to said plate and adapted to bearat its free end upon the filebox, and toggles adapted to oscillate saidlever toward or from the flleboX, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the file-box having a clamp-groove and thefile-board, of a leverpivoted to the latter and havinga guidingprojection a4, toggles for depressing said lever, and projectionsconnected with the file.

board for engaging the under side of said clamp-groove, substantially asset forth.

4. The combination, with the file-board and levers for clamping thesame, of a plate secured to said tile-board forming a pivotal bearingand provided with an enlargement or projection seated in the file-boardfor resisting pressure parallel with the board.

o. rlhe combination, with thc cabinet or shelf, of a le'box or holder, aslide mounted on said shelf, a tongue pivoted upon said slide andadapted to fold toward the same or to stand upward therefrom, and meanscarried by the said holder whereby the latter is engaged and held bysaid tongue, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the shelves, of a slide mounted upon the lowershelf, a tongue pivoted and adapted to fold upon the slide, and afile-box provided with means for the engagement of said tongue, thefile-box having side pieces, the ends of which extend from the top ofthe front of the box in a direction parallel with its bottom, and whichare adapted to engage the bottom of the upper shelf to prevent thepremature tilting of the file-box, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

7. The combination, with a shelf or support, of a file box or holder, aslide mounted on said shelf, a tongue pivoted upon said slide andadapted to fold toward the same or to stand upward therefrom, saidtongue and slide having a shoulder offset or support adapted to cause aspace to be left between said two parts, and means carried by saidholder whereby the latter is engaged and held by said tongue,substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a shelf orsupport, of a file box orholder, aslide mounted on said support, a tongue pivoted upon said slide andadapted to fold toward the same or to stand upward therefrom, saidtongue and slide being provided with a stop to limit the forwardoscillation of the former, and means carried by said holder whereby thelatter is engaged and held by the tongue, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

EDMUND W'. WOODRUFF.

Witnesses:

' Il. N Low,

E. K. STURTEVANT.

